Protect What was Hurt
by SilverExorcist405
Summary: Mikey is always helping out his bros (especially Raph), whether they know it or not. He takes their hits; it's his job. He loves doing it too. No matter his nightmares, no matter the pain. He'll push through. But what happens when he's captured by the Foot? Tortured? He'll protect his bros to the very end, no matter what horrors he endures. Review! Rated for language and violence
1. Chapter 1

**First TMNT fic! Mercy please! No flames! Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT *sighs***

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

Mikey's morning was the usual.

He woke up to the loud groaning of his brothers ordering him to make them breakfast. After making the perilous journey out of his room, which was covered in layer upon layer of comic books, he descended into the kitchen, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Leo was already sitting at the table, patiently waiting for some sort of nourishment before morning practice. Just by looking at him, Mikey could tell he was exhausted. There were huge, black circles under his eyes, and he was leaning heavily on his right arm in an attempt to stay up right.

Mikey decided that he would spare him his pranks for today. Leo really did push himself for the team. It made Mikey want to try harder at his own job- putting smiles on all their faces.

Yup, that was what he considered his role in the family. He needed to keep everyone together. Keep everyone happy. Keep everyone smiling.

Keep the family as one.

Skillfully cracking two eggs with one of his green hands, he heated up the stove after whisking away the yokes. He loved making omelets. He always got a messy feeling when he made them. It was the complete opposite of his brother, Donnie, who had a precise chemistry to everything he did.

Speaking of his purple-clad brother, where was Donnie anyway? Mikey started humming to himself as he quickly glanced across the kitchen and towards the half-opened door of his lab. If the light that gently streamed out of the crack was any indication, he had probably fell asleep in there after working up until some ungodly hour. Mikey continued humming, a sparkle in his eye.

That was number two on his list of "get-out-of-being-tired-for-the-rest-of-the-day". Leo, of course, being the first. As he absentmindedly flipped his omelet, he contemplated how he could cheer his brothers up.

Upon devising several schemes, his thoughts fell on the one brother he didn't not know the location of.

Raph.

Of all his brothers, he probably tried his hardest when it came to Raph. They were the closest out of all the turtles. When Mikey was younger, he always went to Raph when he had nightmares, knowing that the older, strong turtle would take care of his problems. He would banish the monsters that hid in the dark corners of his room, and he would growl at the shadows that threatened to steal his little brother from him.

The groaning sound of the punching bag being jarred away from the chains that held it to the ceiling came from the room over. The steadily faster beat of fist-on-fabric alerted Mikey to the fact that Raph was both awake…and unfortunately, in a bad mood.

He felt like he should be sighing, but he wasn't. What was wrong with having to deal with three brothers that each had their own problems? Nothing! He could do it. He had confidence in himself. After all, he had been doing this all his life.

The limiting factor of having Raph being in the equation quickly obliterated several plots he had begun thinking of. Serving the first omelet to Leo, who only stared at it for a few seconds before beginning to eat it, Mikey realized it was going to be one of those days where he was going to "prank himself" as he liked to call it.

If he couldn't make everyone laugh at someone else without that someone feeling like a piece of crap, than he'd just make himself that person.

Sure, it was always more fun to be laughing at someone rather than someone laughing at you. But Mikey had done this many times before. He was experienced in the art of self-embarrassment. It went so far as to the point where he would purposefully ask dumb questions, just so that he could get his brothers to vent out a bit of their frustration at him. Not like he was the sharpest tool in the shed, but there _was _a limit to how ridiculous a question could be.

He had crossed that boundary many times, whether on purpose, or completely honestly.

He changed the tune he was humming to a song that he knew Leo liked. His tired brother perked up a bit, eating his omelet with renewed vigor. Mikey smiled to himself.

Just as he was about to flip his second omelet, Donnie slammed the door open from his lab. It made Mikey jump, almost spilling egg everywhere, but thanks to his ninja skills and an enthusiastic- albeit surprised- "Booyakasha!" he managed to save Donnie's breakfast from certain doom.

Donnie dragged his feet over to the table and sat down, a blank look in his half lidded eyes. He looked like a ghost that had scared itself when it looked in the mirror.

"Heya Donnie!" Mikey hollered, cutting off his humming to greet his half dead brother. Gosh, his brothers were not morning people.

"Hemph…" was the reply from his genius brother. Smiling a toothy grin, Mikey expertly slid his specially made omelet with green peppers (cause Donnie LOVED green peppers and Mikey happened to talk April into buying him one for such an occasion). Donnie, however, didn't seem to notice the green peppers until he was half way through his omelet. Mikey concluded that he must really be exhausted.

"Thannkkkksss for the pepperrrrrs." Donnie yawned, slurring his speech in a decidedly unlike-Donnie way.

"Why, your welcome, Mr. Zombie-Don!" Mikey exclaimed in an enthusiastic voice which made his brothers brighten up a bit more. His energy, although forced to some degree, was wearing off on them. He really was exhausted himself as well. He had woken up at random intervals throughout the night as nightmares chased him away from much needed sleep. He was alright though. Nothing he couldn't handle on his own; nothing he hadn't done before.

Leo was almost finished with his meal when a pissed off looking Raph marched into the kitchen.

Sitting down on his seat hard, Raph sent a menacing, holy-shit-I'm-gonna-pee-my-pants glare straight at his exuberant brother. Mikey smiled back.

"Well isn't Raphie Boy in a good mood this morning!" He teased lightly, presenting his third and final omelet to his brother. He had run out of eggs, so he would have to settle for cereal this morning.

Raph merely harrumphed and started shoveling the food into his mouth before his eyes widened.

He almost set his fork down as Mikey had begun cleaning up the mess he had made upon making breakfast.

"Mikey…did ya put salami in dis?"

Mikey smiled to himself before turning around and sticking his tongue out at his big bro.

"So what if I did?"

Raph looked at him for a moment, as if debating with himself about what he was going to say. Mieky knew that Raph absolutely would _kill _for salami, or any sausage, for that matter. But being as they lived in a sewer, it was unfortunately extremely hard to come by. Mikey had been saving up this little piece he had smuggled in via April O'Neil. He really needed to give her a hug later. She was making so many of his ideas possible at the moment.

Raph opted out of saying anything, and simply went back to eating his omelet. Mikey, however, noticed that he was eating more slowly, as if chewing thoughtfully in an attempt to savor the flavor. Clenching his fist in the air in triumph, Mikey quickly breathed down some cereal before finishing the rest of the dishes and joining the rest of his brothers for training with Master Splinter.

They meditated for the first little while, much to Mikey's dismay. It wasn't so much that he hated meditation- he just hated not moving around. He tried to focus. He really did! But it was no use. The lack of sleep and the lack of movement had him nodding off in a drooling, unflattering sleep.

To his joy, he found his brothers smirking at him after the session. He smirked back. Pranking himself was not always fun, but at times like this, it was.

Next came a sequence of katas that Master Splinter had them preform. After they had warmed up, they moved onto more difficult moves. All four turtles had at this point broken out into a sweat. Despite all of their tiredness, they seemed to being doing pretty well.

Master Splinter, observant as always, decided that a reward was necessary.

"That is enough, my sons. Next we will move on to sparring."

Almost immediately, everyone's faces light up. Who didn't love sparring? The competition between the brothers was fierce, after all, and the need to prove oneself was always present in every one of their hearts.

Mikey, however, was giving Master Splinter the _look. _The _look _was the look Mikey gave him when he wanted his Sensei to do him a favor. Mikey had often gone to talk with him on these matters.

Master Splinter nodded at him. Mikey, like his brother Leo, was constantly worried about the team. But at the same time that he was worried about the team, he was worried about the _family. _After discussing his concerns with Master Splinter, the knowledgeable rat had agreed with him concerning the tactics he intended to employ. However, he could not help but feel a deep sadness and worry for his youngest son. He was extremely proud that he had enough strength to take the burdens of all his brothers onto himself without them even knowing, but at the same time, Splinter wished that his son could simply live in peace, if just for a while. One so young should not have to bear such a weight.

By the way his other sons all seemed to be in foul and exhausted moods, Master Splinter understood what his son wanted him to do.

"For sparring today, I wish that you all should gang up on one of your brothers…let us say, for today…" Master Splinter pretended to contemplate his decision for a moment. "…it shall be Michelangelo."

Everyone cheered as they were free from the humiliation of defeat. Never had one of their brothers won in a one on three fight with the rest of them. Not to mention that Mikey was an easy target.

Mikey fake pouted, as if the entire ordeal was unfair and he didn't deserve it. However, he managed to send a silent thank you to his Sensei before the fight began.

It was a simple strategy that Mikey would employ. He would hold his own, and then let his brothers defeat him in a way that would make them proud. Shell knows how much they needed da moral boost at the moment.

"It's on guys! You're going down! No one loses to me, the Battle Nexus Champion of Awesomeness! The Turtle Titan returns! Say your prayers now, bros…it was nice knowing ya!"

Raph sniggered, "Please! We could take ya down in five seconds, shell for brains!"

Donnie nodded his agreement.

"I'm sorry Mikey, but you're going to be the one going down this time."

Leo had yet to say anything, but the smile cutting across his face said it all.

"You're so in for it Mikey."

Mikey grinned back.

He was totally going to have bruises after this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! I already got my second chapter written, so what the heck I'll just post it. Please review! I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: You saw it in the first chapter. Must I say it again? ...I DON'T OWN TMNT!**

**Chapter 2**

The rest of the day was the usual as well.

After being mercilessly beaten by his brothers-something he took pride in (not out loud, of course)- Mikey had gone and sulked in Donnie's lab. Donnie was the most understanding out of all his brothers. He took great pride in being useful to someone, hence the many inventions he had created over the years.

So of course, Mikey went to Donnie first. Ice on his bruises stung, but with the insistence of his super-smart brother, he knew they would fade.

Mikey sat on a stool, hands in between his legs like a cat, and listened to Donnie ramble for a bit, sometimes adding in his own commentary.

"So I've been developing this molecular drive that-"

"Wait- we can drive it? I totally call shotgun!"

"No, Mikey. Not that kind of drive. As I was saying-"

"Hey Donnie, what does this button do?"

"Um…that button sets off a chain reaction beginning with the cells in this container moving towards that one via an electric cord. I designed it in order to set up and test certain tracking devices installed in several objects such as the T-phone."

"Wow Donnie, I didn't understand half of that, but it sounds cool!"

"Thanks Mikey."

"No problem dude!"

At this, Donnie was sporting a small, sincere smile. No one really listened to Don anyway, no matter how late at night he stayed up. Mikey wanted to at least give him that, even if he really _did _not understand half of it.

Donnie began typing away on his computer, setting codes for who knows what brilliant thing he was thinking up. Mikey watched him for a while, amazed by the speed of his fingers across the keyboard and the flashing numbers on the screen. Looking at Donnie, he saw him settle into his usually relaxed and controlled position. His previously taught face had now become at ease, as if he had been relieved of some massive burden.

Getting bored and deciding that he had done his job well with Don, Mikey got up from his stool. Wincing slightly from his sore muscles, he rolled his shoulders and successfully cracked his back with a loud, popping noise.

Grimacing from the slight discomfort, he glanced over at Don who was giving him a half concerned, half what-the-heck-are-you-doing look. Grinning sheepishly, Mikey evacuated the room.

He strolled into the kitchen and started the old coffee machine that sat like a gargoyle next to the fridge, knowing that the brother he just spoke with was going to come out sooner or later in search of the reviving drink.

Side-stepping over to the freezer, he opened the door to see the waving form of Ice-cream Kitty.

"Wassup my little Ice-cream Kitty friend? How's life?"

A small meow and continued waving was his only reply.

"Yup. Same for me too. Is it cold enough for you in here?"

Another meow.

"Good…well, see ya round!"

Closing the door gently, Mikey proceeded to look for his other brothers.

Moseying on over to the dojo, Mikey popped his head in through the door. There, as usual, sat Leo. He was surrounded by burning meditation candles that wafted across the room, but his normally relaxed posture was off due to the uncomfortable looking tightness that stretched across his weary limbs. His usually peaceful expression was marred with a frown, and his steady breathing hitched every once in a while as he attempted to take his typically deep, cleansing breathes.

Mikey sneakily tip toed into the room. For a brief moment, he considered poking him, but he resisted the mischievous urge. He was here to help Leo, not annoy him.

Sitting down in the same cross legged position Leo had taken up, Mikey eyed the brother that struggled silently next to him. It bothered him that he had yet to notice Mikey's presence. He must really be having it rough right now.

Mikey contemplated what Master Splinter would say in a situation like this. Master Splinter always knew the right thing to say. It was like he had a million adages that he could just pull out of a hat at any moment. Mikey wished he was like that, wise and knowledgeable.

What was probably bothering Leo was his leadership role in the family. He was always beating himself up for the smallest mistake. Each time he had to make a decision, Mikey could see the doubt that would sometimes gnaw at him in his eyes. Questions never voiced whispered in his ears. Was he keeping his family safe? Was their failure his fault? What if they didn't escape a next time?

Mikey was struck with an idea like a lightning bolt out of a clear sky. Something that Sensei had said many, many years ago to him after he had failed to complete a kata properly. At the time, he hadn't thought much of it. Over time, however, he was beginning to see the real wisdom that his Master had meant to convey. Maybe, just maybe, he could help his brother, if not just this once.

Interrupting the silence like shattering glass, Mikey spoke.

"Once, Master Splinter told me that even monkeys fall from trees."

Leo's eyes snapped open, alarmed by the sudden awareness that he was not alone. He had jumped a little, much to his shame. He was supposed to be the calm, collected one.

Mikey looked over at his Leo, who was currently staring at him with confusion etched into his face. Mikey continued, looking away in half embarrassment.

"I thought about it for a bit. I think it means that nobody's perfect. After all, monkeys climb trees the best, don't they?"

Leo continued to stare at him, not moving from his position.

"Well, not all turtles can be perfect Leo." Mikey finished lamely, his voice almost a whisper. Shaking his head, he got up from his seated position and scrambled out of the dojo. He really wasn't good at giving advice.

Leo stared after him, stunned. But his expression softened, and his tense shoulders loosened up. Closing his eyes once more, a smile tugged at his lips. Contemplating what his brother had said to him, he returned to his meditation. His breathes were deeper and more controlled now. His muscles unwound in a sense of purity as he cleared his mind and searched his soul. Everything was at peace once more. The relief was immense.

Mikey peaked in through the dojo door, nervously glancing inside. Upon seeing Leo in his current state of tranquility, Mikey had to swallow a giggle. He really looked hilarious when he was calm and still. Like you could flick a bean at him and he wouldn't move or care.

Swiping at the air in another victory, Mikey skipped into the living room despite his complaining body. For a moment he debated playing the new video game he had just gotten. To his delight, it had been Assassin's Creed 3. A little bit out of date, he knew, but sewer turtles can't be choosers.

He knew Raph loved Assassin's Creed. That along with Halo were the two things that he loved playing with his hot headed brother. Maybe it was time to move on to his final brother.

There were two possible places that Raph could be. He could in his room, talking with Spike, or he could be at his favorite punching bag towards the back of the lair. Judging from his previously bad mood, Mikey guessed he was probably at the later.

As he walked towards Raph's personal weight room, as he sometimes called it, he began to hear the thud of fists and feet striking the bag. Mikey smiled to himself. When it came to his brothers, he was always right.

Speaking of his brother, Mikey found Raph right where he thought he'd be, pounding away. Vaguely, he glanced around the room. It was stacked left and right with metal weights and piles of rubble. Their was only one punching bag, though, which hung in the middle of the room, where it was currently getting "special treatment." How Raph never got tired of beating the crap out of a defenseless bag, Mikey had no clue. It seemed that was all he would be doing. Training, punching, fighting, eating, yelling…

His older brother had a distant look in his eyes, as if the green orbs could be clouded over any more with the storm clouds of anger. In flurry of brutal punches and kicks, Raph struck at the bag like it was his worst enemy. Gasping for breath, he stood there for a moment and glared at the swinging punching bag, not noticing Mikey who was coming up behind him.

Mikey bit his lip. He wasn't quite sure how to approach his hot headed brother.

"Raph-" he began, but was cut off when an inhuman roar escaped from his brother's lips.

Whirling around in a fit of rage, Raph blindly slammed his fist into Mikey's side. The crack of fist on ribs made Mikey's eyes go wide with pain. Crashing into the floor, Mikey felt the force of the blow doubled as his side smashed into hard floor. His breath left him in a flash, leaving him wheezing and groaning. His eyes almost watered, and the metallic bile of blood stung in his mouth. For a second, he lost his bearings. Immediately, though, worry set in.

Biting back the pain throbbing in his side, he looked up at a gaping Raph. Pure horror shown crystal clear in his eyes, but it was soon replaced by an all-encompassing, soul marring guilt. He looked as if he was about to say something, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Quickly, Mikey jumped up from off the ground, ignoring the fire that spread up is side with an amazing power that made him want to whimper. He had hit the ground so hard that he had bit the side of his cheek, so the smile he plastered to his face was painful. But at the moment, that was a trivial detail. He needed to make sure Raph understood everything was alright.

"Hey, Raph. You alright? I'm okay, see? There's no problem. Come on, deep breathes bro. Your hyperwentatating, or whatever Donnie calls it." Mikey reassured, humor coating his voice.

Raph still looked as if he'd been slapped.

"M-M-Mikey! I'm s-sorry, man! I really d-didn't mean to!" Raph's voice was panicked, and he kept tripping over his words. His expression was frozen in shock.

For a moment, Mikey looked at Raph as gasped for air and stuttered. Finally he couldn't take it anymore.

He flat out laughed.

After a few seconds, Raph growled at him and lightly punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey you! I was honestly worried about ya! Shell, I just punched ya! Hard!"

Mikey quieted his guffaws down to giggles.

"It's okay Raphie Boy! I forgive ya!" He said in a sing-song voice. Raph's facial expression was still taught, however, no matter how hard he tried to hide it behind his famous tough guy act.

Mikey really did know his brothers too well.

"Well…I _will _forgive you if you play my new Assassin's Creed 3 with me!" he managed to exclaim, fist pumping the air like he had just won the lottery. He realized too late this wasn't such a great idea, as his side flared up from the movement like a forest fire. He fought back a small shout of pain, and settled for a mini grimace.

Raph didn't notice. He had face palmed and let lose a huge "ugh" that was riddled with exasperation at the coming gaming torture. He couldn't bring himself to say no though, as guilt still weighed heavy on his chest.

He had punched Mikey.

He had slammed him in the side.

_He had hurt his little brother._

Mikey led him bouncing to the game consul, where he proceeded to insert the game. Raph collapsed onto the sofa behind him.

The game was awesome. The story line was not only epic, but relatable to the turtles. Being the outcasts of society was something they could connect with.

To be honest, Mikey didn't enjoy the game as much as Raph did, who found that playing a game with his younger bro had more stress relief than beating on his punching bag all day. Not only was he pumped up and raring to go afterwards, but some of the guilt he was harboring from punching Mikey had been healed. After all, he had just played with him, hadn't he?

Mikey patted himself on the back upon seeing Raph's somewhat relieved expression. He really had outdone himself today, killing two birds with one stone with Raph.

Raph had gotten super into the game too, going so far as to yell at the screen, shaking his fist in anger. Mikey had laughed at him, frankly ignoring the bruising pain shooting from his side. He loved moments like this. Nothing would stop him from enjoying them.

Leo had come in a little later and paused to watch them play, pointing out advice occasionally. Mikey had half ignored him, not quite sure what to say after what had happened between him and their leader that morning. He did take some of his advice, though, resulting in Raph kicking the blue banded turtle out. Leo had merely chuckled, while Mikey had yelled a long, drawled out "Thank you!" to send him off.

Donnie also stopped by, commenting on how someone had started to make coffee before him. Raph harrumphed in response to this, while Mikey simply stuck his tongue out in concentration as he focused on the game. Donnie had sighed, exasperated, and walked away, muttering something that neither hot head nor goof ball heard.

By the time that they were done with playing the game, it was time for their usual patrol topside. All three of his brothers looked excited and ready to go kick some shell. Mikey had beamed, pride welling up in his chest at his handiwork.

His body, however, was screaming at him to lie down and sleep. He didn't want to move another inch. His side was killing him, as if someone had made him drink poison and it had traveled over to his one lung. He was almost considering copping out just this once. He needed a break after all.

But it was then, just as the thought flashed through his head, that an image of his brothers, beaten and bloody, sped through his imagination. How could he stay home, knowing his brothers could end up like _that_, like in the nightmares he had almost every night.

No, he was going, body be damned.

"Alright gang, we're moving out." Leo stated after they had all gathered in the living room.

Turning to head towards the lair's exit, all the turtles had looks of anticipation and eagerness on their faces. They had all had good days, sort of, and they were looking forward to hiding in the shadows in the closest thing to freedom they would ever know.

Well, at least, those were the thoughts of three of the turtles.

Mikey was praying just to make it through the night. He knew he could do it. He had done stuff like this before. He could suck up the pain. He was a teenager now. He was going to go through with it.

He wasn't giving up on his brothers.

Nope, he'd be dead before he gave them up.

Dead, or seriously injured.

Little did he know what this vow would entail for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! Thank you for all those reviews! Please keep them up! I would just like to apologize really quickly...I accidentally put a reference to the Battle Nexus Championship when I set this in the 2012-verse. Thank you to all those who pointed it out! I really appreciated it. Please review! I always update faster if I get reviews.**

**Disclaimer: Seriously? I mean...seriously? You're gonna make me say this again. I DON'T own TMNT. ;(**

**Enjoy! Review!**

**Chapter 3 **

The night was lucid and cold. Stars winked above the dead blackness of the New York landscape. Sirens echoed in the distance, ringing through the alleyways with the cool breeze accompanying it.

Far below the sky rises and sky scrapers alike, was the soupy gloom of an alley. The silence hung like a poor man from the gallows in this seemingly God forsaken backstreet. Indeed, the quietness was so heavy, that when the loud, obtrusive scraping of the man hole grinding against the concrete shattered it, even the darkness shivered in relief.

There was a pause, as gleaming eyes made sure the coast was clear. As silent as shadows, the four turtles leapt from the man hole and onto the nearest fire escape. It moaned underneath their weight, but it almost sounded as if the wind was simply jostling the age old metal stairs.

With a scary speed that only came with years of training, they found themselves roaming the roofs. Leo, of course, had already taken the lead. The blue tails of his mask fluttered in the wind like a flag for the rest of his family to follow.

Right behind him was Don. The purple banded turtle was feeling very energetic at the moment, though he wasn't quite sure why. Normally it was Raph who was on Leo's tail, making snide comments here and there.

Donnie glanced over his shoulder at the brothers behind him.

Raph was right next to him, eyes narrowed in stealth mode. Nothing was wrong.

Well, that was until Donnie's eyes fell on the last of his brothers.

Mikey was several feet behind them, struggling to keep up. He was panting lightly, while his other brothers hadn't even broken a sweat yet. He gritted his teeth, and took longer strides to keep up with the not-so-fast pace of the brothers.

"Come on Mikey. You can do this!" He thought to himself, focusing on placing his feet where he wanted them to go. Glancing up, however, he caught the worried gaze of his brother Donnie.

"Hey, Mikey. Are you okay?"

Leo must have heard his brother's concerned question, for he suddenly stopped and turned to look at the lagging younger turtle.

Before he could really get a good look at his orange banded brother- or say anything, for that matter- his senses picked up sharp shuriken slicing the air towards his head.

Ducking with amazing speed and grace, Leo pounced out of the way, already barking orders.

"It's the Foot! Donnie, you're with me. Raph, take Mikey. You guys take the left, me and Don got the right. Everyone got it? Cool."

Donnie pranced over the wall to make it his brother, who had just rolled down onto a lower rooftop.

Raph grunted at Mikey, a snigger already on his face. Mikey smirked back.

"Time to crack some shells!" Raph yelled, before jumping to the left as Leo had instructed.

Mikey followed, landing roughly next to his brother on a different roof top. Like wraiths appearing from a black mist, the ninja stepped forward as they let the darkness that had cloaked them fade away into the night.

The Foot surrounded them, and the sounds of battle were heard only another rooftop. Donnie and Leo were already fighting.

Raph charged head first into the sea of black clad ninja warriors. Snarling in rage, he flipped his sais out from his belt and proceeded to make mincemeat of any who dared to come near him, the thudding of metal on flesh making several soldiers back away in fright.

Meanwhile, Mikey was whirling his nun chucks with classic Mikey enthusiasm.

"Hey, bonehead!" he called out to a ninja before him, who turned around and tried to hit him with a side kick before Mikey smashed a 'chuck into the back of his head. The Foot soldier fell to the ground, unconscious, adding to the growing pile that his brother had already created.

"I meant you, not him!" Mikey hollered out, taunting the other Foot around him. They rushed forward like a growing tide, but Mikey soared around them, nun chucks flying, as untouchable as the clouds.

Well, that was how it was for the first five minutes, anyway.

Mikey's sore, aching body was holding back his fast, nun chuck fury. Every moment was now accompanied by breathless gulping, and the occasional grunt as the pain spat from his side.

The fight dragged on and on, and Mikey's sense of his surroundings was deteriorating fast. The pain that his body screamed at him was annoyingly loud, and it made all other focus waver. On the other hand, Raph looked like he had unlimited energy as he kept pounding Foot soldier after Foot solider into the ground.

It was in a moment when Mikey's side was murdering him that he saw it.

A shuriken.

It gleamed in the night, catching his attention as if it was a shooting star. Mikey's breath hitched when realized what it really was.

The shuriken was flying towards Raph, curving in an arch that would surely find its mark. The spinning, lethal metal whirled through the air towards his brother, who fought unbeknownst to the deadly blade approaching.

Mikey did not think.

He acted.

Jumping in front of the rotating star, he attempted to bat it away with his spinning nun chucks. However, his reflexes were bogged by fatigue and pain. The shuriken zipped past his weapon…

…and into his arm.

He let out a short shout at the sudden pain, but he quickly gritted his teeth to silence it.

Raph had heard him though. He glanced back, taking in the protective posture of his brother, standing in front of him, blood dripping from his arm.

"…Mikey?"

"I'm good bro," came the short, gasped reply.

Raph knit his eyebrows, before his gaze fell upon the shuriken buried deep in his younger brother's shoulder. His emerald eyes widened in horror, before another attack forced him to roar his way through the ranks of his enemy, chest rumbling in anger.

The Foot were endless tonight. The overwhelming numbers forced the turtles to converge, until all four stood in a circle, the massive amounts of Foot ninja engulfing them.

"Hey…it's just like…in the Return of the King…" Mikey breathed out with a chuckle. He thought he heard Donnie mutter something about not knowing if he had really stayed up that late through the entire movie. Dodging a blow to his leg, Mikey jumped backwards in an attempt to evade the merciless enemies attacking him.

Unfortunately, he rammed into Leo who nicked his arm on an enemy sword as a result. The both stumbled a bit more, until Leo took down Foot after Foot.

"Mikey! Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry!" Mikey squeaked, guilt spicing his pain. He was getting really dizzy, and his sight was peppered with black dots. Exhaustion weighed down his every move, and each breath felt smashed against his side. The new pain from his arm spread like an illness through his nerves.

It was only a matter of time before one of the Foot would get a serious hit in.

Mikey used tactics that would avoid as much contact with the Foot as possible. Unfortunately, this caused him to constantly be bumping or getting in the way of his brothers.

"Mikey! What the shell?! What are you thinking?!"

"Sorry Donnie…"

"Mikey?! What the heck are ya doing?! Get ya shell away from me!"

"My bad Raph…"

"Mikey, get it together! You're destroying team!"

"Sorry Leo, I'll try harder…"

"Mikey!"

"Mikey!"

"Mikey!"

"Sorry bros…"

The Foot were inching forward, thanks to Mikey's mishaps. At that point, the entire team was growling at him. Mikey, meanwhile, was trying to at least stay on his feet. He almost swayed back and forth, bruises littering his body where he had failed to evade the relentless Foot attacks. Blood was dripping from his fingers as it ran over the cold metal of the shuriken.

No, no he would not give up. His brothers needed him. He needed to help his brothers. He needed too…

"Mikey, you need to get out of here. You're becoming a liability to the team."

It was Leo who said it. He wasn't looking at him, as he was facing the enemy. Mikey never saw his taught, strained expression. No, he never saw the pain deep in Leo's eyes.

All he heard were the words, cold and real. He knew Leo didn't mean it _that _way. He knew he was just doing it for the good of the team.

For the good of the team.

Mikey continued fighting for a few moments, long enough for Raph to grumble at him.

"Mikey, go away! We don't need ya here right now, man."

The Foot swarmed around them, endless and powerful. Mikey could dimly tell through his fuzzy mind that if he left now, even without him as a…as a handicap (yeah, a handicap, because that's what he was) they would still be overrun.

How could he do that? How could he just abandoned his brothers like that?

No...no! He had sworn! He had sworn that he would _die _before he gave up on his brothers. He had sworn to take on any amount of pain, any amount of suffering. He would take every hurt unto himself, if only to protect those he cared for most.

Mikey smiled to himself at the quick, frantic thought. He really had read one too many super hero comics. Since when had he been the one to come in and save the day, "POW!" and "BAAAM!" erupting from every punch and kick he dished out? No, he wasn't a hero. He wasn't the savior. He wasn't about to pull a Spiderman and come swinging in at the last second, saving everyone as he did so.

As an idea came to mind- an idea he didn't know the results of- he knew that in that moment he loved his bros no matter what.

He wasn't gonna be a hero.

He wasn't gonna defeat every villain.

He wasn't gonna save everyone.

The only thing he was going to do was help his brothers.

With the last burst of energy his feet would allow, he leapt over approaching Foot soldier in front of him and began running in the opposite direction.

Immediately, a section of the endless ninja squadrons broke off to follow him. Mikey smiled. It was a start, but he needed more. As in, a LOT more.

"Hey! Dumb Foot ninja buttheads! Wanna know where our lair is? Hmm? Come one, what would poor, old Master Shred Head said if he knew that you passed up the chance to locate his arch enemies home? Think about all the praise you'd get…well, that is…if you follow me! Numskulls!" he shouted in a half serious, half playful voice. He waved at them using his uninjured arm, as the other one was drenched in crimson.

At his words, he had commanded the entire attention of all those who fought on the rooftops, including his brothers. The Foot ninja, masked by the stupid notion that they could please their master, immediately abandoned the fight with the other three turtles and began the chase after the youngest, orange banded one.

For a moment, Leo, Donnie, and Raph merely stared in utter shock as the foot disappeared out of sight, tailing a visibly limping Mikey. They were shocked into paralysis.

When reality came back and slapped them in the face, the cold wind of the night had already blown away the cries of war far away, like some distant memory from some long ago battle field.

It hadn't been that long. They could still go after him. They could still make it.

Raph was the first one to move.

Bellowing a howl of pure fury, he leapt from his stillness and sprinted into the night. Wrath and fear fueled his desperate run. What if they didn't make it time? What if…?

Donnie and Leo glanced at each other, before taking off after their maniac brother.

They needed to help Mikey.

Mikey needed them.

_They _needed _Mikey. _

The trio of turtles bounded over dangerous alleys, dashed over roofs, and hurdled chimneys as they desperately tore after their younger brother. The horrors of what could happen if they didn't make it in time made their strides ever longer. They all breathed heavily from tiredness, but still, they ran.

The darkness of the cold night swallowed them as they searched for their brother, hoping, only hoping, hoping with all of their hearts.

Hoping.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! I'm sorry for the sorta late update...life happens, you know? I'll probably be updating a little later next time too, but I promise, it'll be worth it. For the record, I _loved _writing this chapter, and I hope you do too. Thanks to all those people who reviewed! Please tell me if you like it!

**Chapter 4**

When Mikey finally found enough strength to peel his eyes open, the whole world was darkness.

For a moment, his breath hitched with the terrifying idea that he was blind. Panic consumed him for a split second, blocking out all other emotions and senses. The fear itself was blinding.

Soon, however, his bright blue eyes eventually adjusted to the blackness surrounding him. He was in a somewhat small room, alone, drenched in shadows.

He blinked several times, before the pain finally set in. He hissed from the stabbing sensation, his breath drawn out in a low half-howl the like of which he had never heard nor wanted to hear himself utter again. He snapped his jaw closed, biting the side of his cheek as his eyes widened as his mind tried to encompass everything his nerves were screaming at it.

The aching of his muscles was pulled taught above him, as his half-conscious mind continued to realize his position. His hands where tightly chained above his head, and his feet dangling limply, suspended from the ground. He must have looked like a "Y", which made him want to chuckle (though all that he could manage was a half-strangled whimper.)

"Y" sounded like "Why?" and it made Mikey think about the unsaid question his position dictated.

Why?

Why was he captured? Why was he alone? Why was he half-dead?

Why?

The answer only hardened his resolve towards whatever torture he knew would come after this.

He was here for his brothers.

No, not because of them.

He was here _for _them.

In his head, there was a difference between the two. It made him feel needed if he was in this situation for his brothers. He had done it for them, of his own accord. His brothers hadn't told him too. They hadn't forced him into this position. They hadn't failed him in some way that made him hang there, alone, in the blackness.

Nope, this one was all on him.

Then, his thoughts swung to his escape abruptly, as if the shame he felt in letting himself get captured in the first place wanted to hide behind the pride he felt from helping his brothers.

He had claimed that he was leading the Foot to the lair, but instead he had simply started running in some random direction. Whether he had actually gotten close to the lair or not was a mystery to him. As long as he helped his brothers get away, he was sure it didn't matter. They had effectively caught up to him, and briefly "asked" where the lair was. After he had laughed in their faces, the world had gone dark.

So, he didn't know where he was.

He could guess, though. He was probably in Shredders headquarters, or something like that. There was always the outside chance that he was in some warehouse at the edge of the city.

Either way, he needed to get out of here.

Because his feet couldn't touch the ground, he would be at a disadvantage. His side was stifling him in pain, making it almost impossible for him to lift his legs up at all. His abs simply wouldn't allow it. Weakly, he tugged at the chains blistering his wrists. They would not give, even after ruthlessly yanking with all the muscle he could muster. Offhandedly, he bet Raph could've gotten himself out of this situation.

But he wasn't Raph. He was Mikey. His efforts only caused him to swing, back and forth, back and forth. Purple dots spread eagle-wide across his vision, making him blink from the pain of dizziness. His stomach complained at his actions, and he almost retched from the jerking disturbance. His shoulder hurt like shell where the shuriken had embedded itself into his flesh. His side lanced with icy shock. Maybe moving wasn't such a good idea.

He didn't know for how long he dangled there. Cold was beginning to creep into his bones, soaking him with frozen shadows. Shivers wracked his body, his muscles spasming with tremors of pain. His teeth ground hard together. The silence throttled him, making him pant, if only to hear himself.

Then, suddenly, light.

As blinding as the darkness had been, but worse. Mikey screamed for a moment, his senses doing a double take on the unexpected change in lighting. The darkness had been so dark and soupy, that a single ray of light would have been painful to look at. But this much light? It was mind numbing.

Mikey squeezed his eyes shut, his face scrunched up in pain. After a moment, he registered cold laughter floating through the light. It made his heart restrict in his chest, fear gripping his limbs.

The laughter rolled over the air, cool and humorless. The chuckling made Mikey shiver in the pure dread that lay untamed in the pit of his gut. He knew what was coming.

Once he had gather enough strength to simply open his eyes, the first thing he saw was metal.

Silver, shiny, and deadly, it flashed in front of his eyes with gloating triumph. Mikey blinked once more, clearing his blurring vision to make out the infected eye, scarred with the marring of pink scar tissue.

The Shredder.

Amusement glinted in the eye that glared down at him. Mikey, for once, did not share the feeling.

Even though Mikey could not see his entire face, he knew he was sniggering. He was obviously enjoying the situation the poor turtle was in.

"Well, hello, _Michelangelo._"

The way he said his name made Mikey want to cower. Venom practically spat from his voice in sickly low tone, lulling him into a heart restricting awareness. However, he held his enemies gaze, determined to not show fear, to not give anything away. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the movement of Foot ninja surrounding him in the darkness, each carrying different things with them. What they were actually carrying, however, was a mystery to his fuzzy blue eyes.

Mikey's attention was swiftly brought back to the man in front of him when a long, thin blade slide smoothly in front of his vision. The glimmer of the sharp edge made his eyes go wide.

"Now, now, my little turtle. Can you tell me where your brothers are?"

In less than half a second, Mikey's once wide eyes narrowed to slits.

"Never."

The coldness in his voice not only startled the Shredder, but also himself. It almost made his enemy step back, before he growled low out of humiliation.

The blade tickled his throat before it slide down to his side. Hovering over his armpit, Mikey refused to stare at it, instead looking at Shredder with fierce, unrelenting eyes.

He knew what was coming.

The blade plunged into his armpit, wrenching an unwilling shriek from his throat. After a few seconds, it was yanked out brutally.

"Come now, little turtle. Where is your father?"

Mikey gasped for air, agony crawling threw him with stinging slowness.

The blade lurched back into his side, a little lower than the first wound.

An anguished screech ripped from his throat. But still the stabbing continued, down his side with throbbing pain.

"Where are your brothers?"

Pain.

"Where is your father?"

_Pain. _

"Where is your family?"

_PAIN._

"You _will _answer me, turtle!"

**_PAIN._**

The Shredder abandoned the blade, tossing the crimson coated weapon to the side in disgust. Holding out a hand, a Foot soldier carefully placed a whip in his hand soaked in the turtle's blood.

A low chuckle resonated through the room.

Now the fun _really _begins.

-TMNT-

Raph slammed his fist into the wall of the lair, growling in pure anger.

Donnie had crashed into the couch, his head in his hands. Leo simply stood there, his eyes clouded.

They hadn't made it in time.

The haunting image of his brother being knocked out and carried away right in front of them kept replaying itself over and over in everyone's minds. The way Mikey's body, limp with bruises and blood, slung roughly over a Foot ninja's soldier had been floppy, almost lifeless, was imprinted in their thoughts. Even that quick, small, incredibly sad smile he had managed to give, if only for a brief moment, as if he knew that this would have been the outcome of his actions, and he was happy that that was so.

Raph roared, flipping over the chair next to the couch in a blind fury.

Donnie didn't even flinch.

Raph, out of things to obliterate or punch, rounded on the stock still form of Leo. The blank stare had not left his eyes. His hands hung useless at his sides. His katanas were safely tucked away in their sheaths.

The sight of him infuriated Raph.

Launching himself at him, Raph grabbed him by the shoulders, tackling him to the ground with a loud crash. Barreling across the floor, Raph came out on top, fist raised. He was about to punch the lights out of him, when he noticed that the blank look had yet to fade away in Leo's eyes.

Raph panted heavily for a moment, fist about to strike, before he lowered it and rolled off of his blue banded brother.

He lay on his shell for a few seconds, before sitting up. His eyes shut tight at the lingering thoughts taunting him.

_Mikey was gone, and it was _his _fault. If only he had controlled his anger, he wouldn't have punched him. If only he had seen that shuriken sooner, he wouldn't have had to take it for him. If only he hadn't yelled at him. _

_ Maybe he would still be here._

It was then that Master Splinter came rushing in, concern shimmering in his eyes for his sons. He counted them, making sure that they were all there.

One. Donatello, the purple clad genius, almost…sobbing on the couch?

Two. Raphael, sitting on the floor, breathing heavily, blood dripping from his fist. Blood?

Three. Leonardo, the blue banded turtle, finally picking himself off the floor. The blank stare in his eyes made Master Splinter pause.

Four.

There was no four.

"My sons, where is Michelangelo?"

Raph wailed once more, anger bellowing in his booming voice. He cut himself off however, and the silence was much worse than the anger. Much worse.

Don shook his head, denial plain in his features.

It was Leo who finally spoke.

"He was captured by the Foot Clan. We tried…"

His voice trailed off, and he gulped hard, trying to keep in his emotions in check.

"We tried to get him back." Donnie whispered, finishing the thought. His head was still in his hands. He had yet to look up.

"But we couldn't."

Master Splinter stood, as still as silence itself.

Leo gulped once more.

Everyone was remembering the events of the day. How their morning had begun awful, but had gradually gotten better because of…because of Mikey.

As each one of them came to realize different things that he had done for them that day, a blinding heartache followed like a disease.

Donnie hadn't noticed the peppers in his omelet until he was halfway done. He knew Mikey must have really gone to great lengths to get him those peppers, and he hadn't even seen them right away. Then, Mikey had actually let him talk to him. No one ever listened to him. Except for Mikey. Only Mikey. He had a sneaky suspicion that he had made him his coffee too. In fact, he was sure of it.

Leo was thinking about what Mikey had said to him in the dojo after training. Sure, Mikey wasn't one for words, but Leo had never felt so at peace in several weeks. He really needed someone to say that to him, someone besides Master Splinter. As much as he respected his Sensei, the relief that came from hearing comforting words from one of his brothers was like cold water on a burn. Mikey always tried to do little things to cheer him up. His mind flashed to breakfast, when Mikey had been humming his favorite song. He was beginning to suspect that he had done so on purpose, if only to take some of the stress off him.

Raph was struggling not to lose his cool. Shell, his brother had tried so damn hard to get him salami for his eggs, and he hadn't even thanked him. He couldn't have even swallowed his pride for that one moment to thank his baby bro. No, instead he had been such an asshole. He had even seen that Mikey had only had cereal, and that they were out of eggs. Had he said anything then either? No. And after training, when he had lost the reins on his anger thinking of things that he knew would infuriate him, he had taken it out on Mikey. He had just been trying to help him. What did he do? He punched him in the side. He was pretty sure that he had really hurt Mikey then. Not only that, the shell-for-brains still had managed to calm him down by playing that dumb video game. He had been injured! By _him! _What had Mikey been thinking? He had been thinking of him.

Master Splinter shook his head, muttering something that the other three turtles barely heard.

"No…no…not after what he did this morning…"

At this, Raph perked up.

"Masta' Splinter, what did Mikey do dis morning?"

The rat widen his eyes, before his gaze softened.

"Come sit my sons."

He led them to the dojo, his tail swishing back and forth as his whiskers twitched with worry. The turtles limply followed, their steps dragging with a deadness that was painful to watch. Sitting down in the line they usually formed, the remaining turtles felt incomplete. It wasn't the same without the fourth member of the family to sit with them. They felt missing. They felt lost.

They felt guilt.

Master Splinter turned to them, eyes hard and serious.

"Your training this morning was no accident." He began, watching as the confused expressions of his sons stared back at him. He sighed, grief making him pause for a moment longer than he had intended to. In that second, he wondered if it was truly wise to be telling his sons this. Michelangelo would definitely not approve. He did not want his brothers to know what he did for them. He did not want them to know to what lengths he went for them. He did not want that kind of recognition.

Master Splinter cleared his thoughts. Now was not the time. His sons must know.

"Michelangelo has talked to me in the past about certain types of situations. When he feels that one of you are down, he takes that opportunity to prank one of his other brothers. However, my sons, when he feels that all of you are having a bad day, he says that he…I think he termed it…he 'pranks himself.'

"He sometimes signals to me when he wants to do something that will lift your spirits. This morning's sparring session was not my idea. It was your brother's."

Silence reigned through the dojo.

They were all remembering the sparring session, and other moments too, in the past, when Mikey had 'pranked' himself, only now realizing that that was what it was. Donnie put a hand over his mouth in either shock or horror, he couldn't tell.

Their thoughts swung to the fight with deadly dread. Donnie knew something had been wrong, why hadn't he said something sooner? If only Leo could have noticed the Foot earlier, they would never have had to fight. Raph kept remembering the back of his brother, blood creeping down his arm, saying nothing but, "I'm good bro," without so much as looking at him.

But what really hung on their hearts was how they had yelled at him.

_"Mikey! Watch where you're going!"_

_ "Mikey! What the shell?! What are you thinking?!"_

_ "Mikey?! What the heck are ya doing?! Get ya shell away from me!"_

_ "Mikey, get it together! You're destroying team!"_

Everything they had said pounded into them like a hammer to the gut. What they said. How they said them…

_ "Mikey, go away! We don't need ya here right now, man."_

_ "Mikey, you need to get out of here. You're becoming a liability to the team." _

How could they say those things? After all that he had done? After all that he had been through? After everything?

How could they say that they didn't need him?

Tears streamed over purple, blue, and even red masks. Splinter bowed his head.

They were getting him back.

_They were getting him back if it was the last thing they did. _


	5. Chapter 5

I got chapter 5! I hope you like it! Please review!

**Chapter 5 **

After the whipping, came the nails.

They started by hammering them into the bottom of his feet. Then, it was the back of his knees. From there, they moved up into his thighs, then his plastron, his side, and finally his shoulder blades. Hammering and hammering and hammering. His screams drowned out the constant sound of hammers on nails.

They fed him nothing but dirt smeared in his own blood. They told him how disgusting he was, eating himself that way. He wanted to throw it up, but they would have forced it down his throat again.

The torture was non-stop. There was no pause. There was no respite. There was no relief. Just constant pain, and constant questions and taunts.

"Where are your brothers? Where is your father? They don't care about you anyway. If they cared, then why are you here? Why didn't they protect you? They don't love you anymore. They aren't even searching for you. Tell us where they are. It all stops if you tell us where they are. They don't care. They never cared. Where is your family?"

Always the same questions. Never the same taunts.

Always the same answer.

"Never. I w-w-won't t-tell you!"

The hammering would start again, followed by the shrieking, the horrible shrieking.

The Shredder then decided that they would skin his left leg up till his knee.

Mikey would have thought that skinning was an art by the way the Shredder preformed it. The Foot soldiers all gathered around, staring, praising, cheering, as if it was some sort of sporting event.

Mikey's eyes had rolled back into his head as he screeched with his raw throat until he choked on the blood he was beginning to cough up. His mind chanting for it to stop. Stop the pain. Stop the torture. Stop.

But every time they asked him, he would harden his resolve with a single word.

"Never."

The Shredder fed him his own skin. The long, flayed strips were still warm with his blood. He gulped it down. Who knows what they would do to him if he didn't.

Pain.

They slowly pulled the nails out of him, wrenching more screams from his exhausted form.

Still, it never stopped.

More knives. Terrible knives. Knives on his toes. Knives on his hands. Knives on his sides.

It was after all this that Mikey looked up into the Shredder's enraged eyes, and saw there something he did not expect to see.

Fear.

Fear? Why was the Shredder afraid?

It was then that Mikey understood.

He was afraid of him. The Shredder was afraid of him. He was afraid of the way that he took the pain, and still managed to hold on. He was afraid that he might not get any information out of the one lead that he had. He was afraid of failure. He was afraid of Mikey.

So when Mikey's dull, blue eyes took in the sight of the huge clamp that was in his hands, he laughed.

He laughed right in his face.

Indeed, even when the clamp fastened onto his shell, he was smiling. He was protecting his family! He had humiliated his enemy. His honor still clung to him. He was alive.

After that, the pain was white hot.

The Shredder flashed a grin at him, holding a scute in the clamp. He had torn off part of the Mikey's shell.

"Tell me where your family is, my little turtle."

And still, despite everything, the same answer.

"_Never."_

They broke his fingers. They broke his toes. The broke his ribs.

But they never broke his spirit.

Eventually, Shredder was running out of ideas, and Mikey was getting "bored" as liked to whisper at him in between tortures. Whenever he took out a knife or a wipe, Mikey smiled. He'd seen that pain before. It was nothing he couldn't handle. Nothing he hadn't already faced.

And the Shredder knew it.

Despite everything, he still managed to pull a few puns. With every crack of the whip came the cracking of a joke. For every punch, a punchline.

It kept him sane.

But no matter how hard he tried, Mikey couldn't stop the screams. They came of their own accord, ripping him open with their own horror.

The truth slammed into him every time he screamed.

He was losing.

Mikey was losing.

At the same time he was losing, he was winning. He knew that he would never give his brothers away. He would never let his father down. His family was safe from harm. He would protect it, even if he was hurt.

But he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. Eventually, he was going to die. The blood loss was too immense. The cuts and bruises was too numerous. The pain was too real.

He did not know for how long he had been there, hung limply in the darkness and in the light. Hours? Day? Weeks? Months? He did not know. It made little difference to him.

He knew his brothers were probably freaking out right then. They were probably scrambling to get him back. Mikey sometimes would chuckle at the simple idea of Raph actually cooperating with Leo for his sake.

It was then that the pain would return.

It wasn't a physical pain. No, this was something that Shredder and his torture tools could never inflict.

He missed his brothers.

The taunting would get worse and worse, right at this moment. The whispers in his ears seemed to grow louder. The doubt grew, even though he tried so hard to keep it at bay.

The end of the line was when Shredder had come in with a tape recorder.

He held it up, smirking for sure, and placed it on the blood stained table that had been placed in front of Mikey back when they had switched over to electric shocks. Mikey eyed him half-heartedly.

Shredder pressed the play button.

At first it was static, and Mikey felt like telling the Tin Head to go get an upgrade on his technology when the sounds of battle met his ears. He hung his head, focus for a moment on the sounds and battle cries that he knew all too well.

It was his brothers!

Mikey's breath hitched painfully. His brothers were fighting? Were they alright? Were they hurt?

His worry turned to confusion when he heard a loud- but clear- "BOOYAKASHA!"

Was this a previous battle where he had been with his brothers? Apparently. Listening more carefully, he finally understood the situation when he heard his brother's voice.

_"Mikey! Watch where you're going!"_

Mikey's blood ran cold. This was the last battle he had fought with his family, wasn't it? Why did the Shredder have a recording of this?

After a while, Mikey was in tears.

The things they said, the words they had used…they were true. He had gotten them into that mess. He was the one who had been messing up. It was all his fault. It was all his fault…

_"Mikey, you need to get out of here. You're becoming a liability to the team." _

Mikey didn't want to be a liability. He had lived his whole life for the one purpose of keeping the family together. He didn't want them drifting apart. He didn't want them to frown. He wanted them to smile. He wanted to protect them.

_"Mikey, go away! We don't need ya here right now, man." _

He was sobbing now, sobbing so hard. The awful moaning wracked his body into nearly unbearable agony. He shouted his anguish, his voice reaching a whole new octave as he tried to frown out the horrible doubt. He glared down at the Shredder, who had come up close to him. He spat blood into his face. The Shredder punched him in the side in response.

Then, they left.

They left him alone, in the darkness, hurting and bleeding and crying.

They left him to die in his own pain.

When the door closed and all the Foot Ninja were finally gone, Mikey managed a small, broken smile then.

_He would never tell them anything. _

-TMNT-

The lair was sickeningly quiet. The air, strung taught with unseen tension, seemed as fragile as glass. Any moment, it could shatter, and all hell would break lose.

At the moment, the entire family (or at least, what was left of it) was now all standing at the front entrance to the lair.

No words were spoken. They simply looked at each other. Master Splinter was making an effort to make eye contact with all of his remaining sons. They needed strength.

After a week and a half of searching, they had found were they were keeping Mikey.

Raph fidgeted. He didn't like waiting. He wanted to be flying across the roof tops at break neck speed, fighting to see his baby brother once more laughing at him.

But they stood there.

It took several more moments for them to leave. Raph followed behind Leo dutifully for once. They raced through the stench of the sewers and finally emerged into the darkness. Pouncing left and right, they made their way across the shadows of New York.

The truth had seeped through all of their bones by now.

They were scared.

They were scared of the idea of failure. They were scared of their unfavorable odds.

But most of all, they were scared of what they might find.

The constant "what ifs" had plagued them throughout the absence of their little brother. What if Mikey was being tortured? What if he was being killed? What if he was dead when they got there?

The last possibility haunted Raph the most. What if he never got the chance to see Mikey again? How could he ever say he was sorry? What if Mikey…

The time swung by too fast. Soon, they stood across from the low lying building were their "information" had led them to. While Don had attempted tracking all possible signs of his brother using technology, Raph and Leo had taken to the streets. They had snagged a Foot Ninja who after a word with Raph had told them of his cell.

Raph shivered at the memory.

_Flashback:_

_The cool air ruffled the black clothing of the Foot Ninja as he shivered in the tight grip of the red turtle's fists._

_"Raph, let him go. We know where Mikey is." Leo had said, almost half-heartedly, as if he didn't really care if Raph beat him up or not. At the moment, even the leader inside of the blue clad turtle had turned to stone in the face of his brotherly love. The Foot Ninja could have hurt Mikey. There was no way he was going to defend him._

_"One second…there's somethin' more I wanna know." Raph hissed, seething into the frightened man's face. He whimpered, fear overpowering all other emotions._

_"What are ya punks doing to my baby brother?" He whispered, cruel and cold and chillingly demanding. He normally would have yelled this in a fit of rage. But now, all that came through was hate. Pure and utter hate._

_As frightening as his voice had slithered in through the horror of the man visibly shaking in his grasp, a chuckle had managed to spread across the Foot ninja's face._

_"Well, I heard my master was just having fun with him, that's all."_

_It was then that Raph's emerald eyes had snapped._

_End Flashback_

Circling around the back of the building, the trio of turtles stealthily crept in like black panthers through a broken window. They found themselves in a small room loaded with trash and broken toys tossed away after they miserably failed in their attempt at happiness. The silence hung so thick that they could almost scare themselves with it. Instead, they stalked through the blackness.

A shriek pierced the air, sudden and agonizing.

They all looked at each other, recognizing the voice.

Mikey.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Raph burst through the door, his anger smashed across his face. Behind him lay countless Foot Ninja, out cold and strewn about the dirty ground of the hallway. Rage clouded his eyes, brandishing his sais forward, waiting for who his next victim would be.

He was met with dark silence.

Light flitted from the flickering bulb that illuminated the hallway behind him, making the blackness in front of him conceal whatever lay beyond. He was prepared for the worst possible of situations. He could handle thousands of Foot. He could handle the Shredder.

As he took a wary step forward into the shadows, Raph jumped as he stepped on something sharp. Looking down, he caught sight of a nail, ripped flesh clinging onto it like a barnacle.

Heart constricting in fear for his brother, he looked up once more. He squinted.

"Mikey?"

It was then that he finally caught sight of his brother.

_That _he couldn't handle. He wasn't prepared for _that._

Mikey hung by his hands on horrid chains. Just hanging there, unmoving, dripping with blood. Scattered around the room were horrible things, horrible tools. Blood everywhere.

_Blood. _

The rest was a blur.

Leo and Don finally joined him, panting from effort. When they caught sight of Mikey, all hell broke loose.

They had him down in a second. Don was yelling about bandages and blood and breathing. Leo was yelling back, barking orders in a wavering authoritative voice.

Raph said nothing.

He simply scooped his beaten brother into his arms, not caring about the blood smearing onto him. He barely registered Don saying something about getting him to the lair as quickly as possible. He needed to stop the bleeding. He needed to save him.

Raph was already running.

Getting out of the Shredder's hideout was one of the fastest things they had ever done.

Raph just ran. The ninja that dared approach him were immediately and brutally taken out by Leo and Don.

They were at the lair in moments, Don screaming orders, before locking himself up in his lab with Mikey.

Raph panted, just now realizing that he was exhausted from sprinting over three miles. His muscles burned from strain and stress. Limping over to the door to Don's lab, he put a hand to the cold surface. He couldn't hear through the thick metal, though he wished he could. He wanted to know if his little brother was alright.

He needed to know.

He slid down onto his knees, fatigue and anxiety dragging down his body. He tensed when a hand rested on his shoulder.

Green eyes looked up into dark blue ones.

Leo didn't say anything, and Raph was silently thankful. If he had told him it was going to be alright, he probably would have exploded. No, he only looked at him, giving quiet support.

Leo than walked away to where Master Splinter stood in the door way, having heard the commotion of his sons. With one look from Leo, the wise rat's eyes hardened. He led the leader of his sons away, ready to hear what had occurred.

Raph got up off of his knees, when an image of Mikey dangling from those chains flashed through his head.

Roaring, Raph slammed a fist into the wall, disregarding the jarring sensation it sent up his arm. He couldn't do anything. Even now he was worthless as Donnie tried to save their little brother.

This was all his fault.

Raph started pacing, back and forth, back and forth.

Even when Leo had emerged, and told him to calm down, all he could do was yell at him and continue to pace.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

He didn't notice when Leo sat down next to the door, staring blankly ahead. He didn't notice the tiredness dragging at his limbs. He didn't notice the tears standing in his eyes.

He just went back and forth, back and forth.

Hours had gone by. It was probably morning topside, not like that mattered down here in the sewers. Raph was just about to punch the wall one more time. He couldn't take waiting. He couldn't take not knowing. He couldn't take it…

Mikey.

He had looked almost dead.

The horror of each cut, each slash, each hole, was ingrained on his memory. The way his blood had pooled underneath him. The indescribable pain that spewed out from his brother's wound had mocked him.

It was then that Donnie pushed open the door to his lab, exhaustion making him look like one of the living dead. He nearly collapsed if it hadn't been for Leo, who quickly stood up and leant him his shoulder as a form of support.

Raph was in Don's face in a second.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Don merely nodded, too tired to give him a proper answer.

With that, Raph raced into the lab.

Another thing he wasn't prepared for.

He wasn't prepared for the small, weak form of his brother, which was more bandages than skin. He wasn't prepared for the tubes that stuck out of him, keeping him alive on big machines. He wasn't prepared for any of it.

Raph pulled up a chair.

Mikey looked peaceful. His expression was soft, as if he wasn't in pain anymore. As if he was…

Raph never finished the thought.

He reached down one of his big hands and held his baby brother's. His hands were in splints. They must have been broken. Raph squeezed his eyes shut, the hot tears spilling down.

This was all his fault.

This was all his fault.

Sobs wracked his body. For once, the hot headed turtle did not care. He did not care whether anyone saw him. He did not care that he never cried. He did not care that he was supposed to be the tough guy in the family.

This was all his fault.

Mikey looked so frail, so fragile. Raph ran his thumb up and down his hand incredibly gently, as if he pressed too hard he would break his already broken form even more.

He stayed that way, just sitting by his brother's side, for a long time.

A _long _time.

-TMNT-

The first thing that Mikey was aware of was the dark.

It was black, but no oppressive and approaching like the shadows he had been drowning in before. No, this darkness wasn't the same. It was a warm darkness, like a summer night spent roaming the rooftops with his bros. He almost felt comfortable.

Then, the pain came. It rolled over his body, trying to wring a cry from his lips. He bit it down. Raph didn't cry. Neither would he.

After hardening his resolve, his sense of smell hit him. Hard. It reeked of sweat and blood and metal. He almost scrunched up his nose, but his facial muscles would not respond to him.

He tasted bile in his mouth, maybe even blood. He wanted to swallow, to gulp, to get that awful taste from his mouth, but the strength did not find him.

That's when he heard the beeping.

It was constant and steady. It annoyed him too no end. He wished it would stop.

But then he heard something else.

"Wake up Mikey."

It was Raph, though Mikey could barely tell. His voice was a croak, as if he had sandpaper down his throat.

Horror filled Mikey at the sound. Raph sounded so tired, so worried, so _guilty. _It made Mikey want to cry. It made him want…

…to wake up.

He forced all his energy into his eyelids, practically screaming at himself to wake up. His brother needed him. He needed to let Raph know everything was fine. That he was okay. He hadn't told them anything. He hadn't told the Shredder a thing. Well…maybe a few bad jokes, but otherwise he hadn't said a word! He had always refused! Always! Always…

His eyelids twitched, and a low groan rumbled painfully in his chest. The energy he was channeling into his eyes was making him dizzy with fatigue. He wanted to sink back into oblivion, away from the agony his body was shrieking at him.

But he couldn't leave Raph. He just couldn't.

"Mikey?"

The voice was hopeful, hopeful in a way that made Mikey try anything in his power not to let his hot headed brother down. He was going to wake up, and that was final.

Finally, his eyes fluttered open.

The first thing he saw was tears.

His brother, Raph, was in tears.

Seeing Raph crying made him want to cry. Instead, he pulled through the pain and smiled a small smile.

"Wassup dude? You haven't been stealing my share of pizza now, have you?"

Raph shook his head, more hot tears falling down. Mikey took in the dark bags underneath his eyes and the depressed way his shoulders slumped.

"Seriously man, when was the last time you slept?"

Raph chuckled, an almost proud glint in his eye.

"S-s-since ya got here bro."

His voice was so quiet. Mikey frowned, the tiredness threatening to overrun him. He fought it, almost biting his lip to stay awake.

"How long have I been out?"

Raph's response was more tears. Shaking his head, he looked away, before looking down at his baby brother again.

"It's been a week since I brought ya back bro. A…week…"

Mikey stared in silence.

A week?

It looked like he had a lot of cartoons he needed to catch up on. Not only cartoons, but maybe he should call April.

He thinks he might want some salami for the omelets he'll be making.


End file.
